If the Shoe Fits
by Sugar Kane
Summary: With some help from Mike, Connie learns that perhaps stylish shoes aren't such a good thing.


_The standard disclaimer applies: All characters are property of Dick Wolf and NBC Universal. Not mine, not making money._

Shoes are my weakness.

I don't make a whole lot of money in my job, but I do like to splurge on things that make me feel good. And when I saw those pointy-toed Jimmy Choo heels in a store window, I simply couldn't resist. Especially when they were on sale – half-price!

I tried the shoes on in the store, and they felt fine. They also looked great. But when I wore them to work the following Monday, it was a different story.

I guess the trouble started when Mike and I were walking to court. I felt a pinching sensation in my toes. But I shrugged it off – after all, it always takes a while to break in a new pair of shoes. And when I sat down at the prosecution table, the feeling went away.

Mike had insisted that I cross-examine a witness, and I couldn't help but think of Ray Campbell. But he'd apologized for that transgression, and I had forgiven him. And he believed that a feminine touch would be better for a traumatized fifteen-year-old girl.

As soon as I stood up to do my cross-examination, the sensation returned – and it was painful this time. My toes burned, and my arches ached. I tried not to show my discomfort as I began questioning the witness.

Besides, I wasn't about to give up on those shoes – even at half-price, they cost two hundred and fifty dollars.

But by the middle of the day, I was begging for relief. I was sure that I had blisters, and it was painful to even stand up. I wished that I had a more comfortable pair with me – at that point, I didn't care about style. Even loafers would have sufficed.

However, I was stuck with the fabulous but painful Jimmy Choo heels – and we had four hours of court proceedings left to go. Luckily, my questioning was finished, and all I had to do was sit and watch Mike. Thank God for that.

Unfortunately, the shoes were beginning to hurt even when I sat down. At that point, I would have done anything to be rid of them.

At the end of the day, we went back to Mike's office – and I was so relieved. I immediately took off the shoes, tossing them across the floor in frustration. The cool tiled floor was a welcome comfort to my aching feet.

Mike gave me a bemused look as he put down his briefcase.

"What was _that _all about?" he asked.

"Those are the shoes from hell," I replied. "I bought them on the weekend, and they must be a size too small. My feet hurt like you would not believe."

Mike fiddled with the buttons on his BlackBerry. "I can't understand why women wear those torture devices anyway," he said.

"Don't you start," I warned. "It's style. They accentuate my legs."

"Your legs would still look great without those things," he argued. Then he gestured towards the couch. "Why don't you sit down?"

Thinking that it would be a good idea to get off my feet, I took Mike up on his suggestion. He put the BlackBerry down and sat down next to me, pulling my legs upward onto his lap.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Making my girlfriend feel better," he answered as he began to massage my aching feet.

I lay back, enjoying the attention. Mike started at my toes, careful to avoid the blisters that had formed. Then he slowly moved downward, rubbing gently.

"How does that feel?" he asked.

"Good," I replied just as he found the spot that hurt the most. "Oh, Mike – right there."

He continued to caress my feet with his soft hands, and it felt so good that I could have melted into the couch. Or fallen asleep. In any case, my feet were beginning to not hurt as much, and that was a good thing.

Just then, the side door to Mike's office opened. I gasped. Mike stopped massaging.

Even now, I wonder what Jack thought of the sight of us. It was most inappropriate – there I was, lying on the couch with my bare feet in Mike's lap. And Mike looked like a kid who'd just been caught with his hands in the cookie jar.

As for Jack, he looked…well, not surprised.

"I knew that something was going on between you two," he said, raising an eyebrow. "Just try to keep it out of the office from now on."

_finis_


End file.
